Health Impacts of the COVID-19 Lockdown Measure in a Low Socio-Economic Setting: A Cross-Sectional Study on Reunion Island

Adrian Fianu (), Hind Aissaoui, Nadège Naty, Victorine Lenclume, Anne-Françoise Casimir, Emmanuel Chirpaz, Olivier Maillard, Michel Spodenkiewicz, Nicolas Bouscaren, Michelle Kelly-Irving, Emmanuelle Rachou, Cyrille Delpierre and Patrick Gérardin
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Adrian Fianu: Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) Centre d’Investigation Clinique CIC1410, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de La Réunion, CEDEX, 97448 Saint-Pierre, France
Hind Aissaoui: Unité de Soutien Méthodologique, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de La Réunion, 97400 Saint-Denis, France
Nadège Naty: Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) Centre d’Investigation Clinique CIC1410, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de La Réunion, CEDEX, 97448 Saint-Pierre, France
Victorine Lenclume: Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) Centre d’Investigation Clinique CIC1410, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de La Réunion, CEDEX, 97448 Saint-Pierre, France
Anne-Françoise Casimir: Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) Centre d’Investigation Clinique CIC1410, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de La Réunion, CEDEX, 97448 Saint-Pierre, France
Emmanuel Chirpaz: Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) Centre d’Investigation Clinique CIC1410, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de La Réunion, CEDEX, 97448 Saint-Pierre, France
Olivier Maillard: Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) Centre d’Investigation Clinique CIC1410, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de La Réunion, CEDEX, 97448 Saint-Pierre, France
Michel Spodenkiewicz: Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) Centre d’Investigation Clinique CIC1410, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de La Réunion, CEDEX, 97448 Saint-Pierre, France
Nicolas Bouscaren: Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) Centre d’Investigation Clinique CIC1410, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de La Réunion, CEDEX, 97448 Saint-Pierre, France
Michelle Kelly-Irving: Center for Epidemiology and Research in POPulation Health (CERPOP), Université de Toulouse, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), Université Paul Sabatier (UPS), 31000 Toulouse, France
Emmanuelle Rachou: Observatoire Régional de la Santé—La Réunion, 97400 Saint-Denis, France
Cyrille Delpierre: Center for Epidemiology and Research in POPulation Health (CERPOP), Université de Toulouse, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), Université Paul Sabatier (UPS), 31000 Toulouse, France
Patrick Gérardin: Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) Centre d’Investigation Clinique CIC1410, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de La Réunion, CEDEX, 97448 Saint-Pierre, France

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 21, 1-22

Abstract: In March 2020, the French government implemented nation-wide measures to reduce social contact and slow the progression of the emerging coronavirus responsible for COVID-19, the most significant being a complete home lockdown that lasted 8 weeks. Reunion Island is a French overseas department marked by large social inequalities. We draw the hypothesis that distancing and lockdown measures may have contributed to an increase in the social inequalities in health (SIH) on Reunion Island. The aim of our study was to describe the SIH during lockdown in the Reunionese population. We implemented a cross-sectional telephone survey conducted between 13 May and 22 July 2020, using a retrospective data collection on the lockdown period. A total of 892 adult participants (≥18 years) were recruited in the 114 large Reunionese neighborhoods using the quota method within the national “White Pages” telephone directory. Degraded psychological states, an increase in addictive behaviors, difficulties in accessing food, a decrease in physical activity, delayed medical appointments, violence against women, and health problems in children were driven by the socio-economic characteristics of the population, most often to the disadvantage of social groups exposed to poor living conditions. These results suggest that the COVID-19 lockdown contributed to an increase in SIH.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; lockdown; Reunion Island; living conditions; self-reported health; social inequalities in health; social epidemiology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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